A Guide to Khiva, Uzbekistan, Khiva, Uzbekistan

When finalizing my travel plans for Uzbekistan, Khiva appeared only a place to go “if I could manage time,” because it seemed so far away from every place I meant to visit. So, I let it remain on my list as a backup if or when fancy took me. Khiva was like that secret I would open only if I had no choice.

Truth be told – while it was on Samarkand and Bukhara that I had pinned my hopes for the Uzbekistan Silk Road trip – it was Khiva that stole my heart in the end.

I was surprised to find that Khiva, an important stop on the Silk Road was not as “far away or isolated” as some sources made it out to be and I am glad that I took the chance to visit this off the beaten track place in the south -central part of Uzbekistan.

Khiva was synonymous with slave trade and barbarism once upon a time (slavery was formally abolished in 1917). That tag is long gone and today it is more like an open-air museum, to say the least. Its mud-walled, labyrinthine alleyways are charming and the intricate designs of blue mosaic are perhaps one of its kind and very pleasing to the eye. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).